Lord Von Schmitt on ‘Shark Tank’: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Entrepreneur Schuyler Ellers took his 1970s-inspired crochet clothing brand to the Sharks on ABC’s Shark Tank to see if he could score an investment in the company.

Ellers pitched his company, Lord von Schmitt, to sharks Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner and Robert Herjavec. According to the episode synopsis, he “pitches the Sharks on investing in his far-out textiles brand.”

Ellers is a designer who enjoys incorporating “mind-melting patterns and vibrant colors” into fun and comfortable fashion designs in anything from “chaps to onesies to parasols.”

Here’s what you should know about Lord Von Schmitt on Shark Tank: 

1. The Clothing Line Includes a Variety of Items

The clothing line created by Ellers doesn’t just include the usual shorts and tee shirts. Instead, he creates designs for things like chaps and parasols as well.

Some other available designs include ponchos, underwear, shorts, pants, Tuxedo Sweaters, Robes, Crochet Crop Top Sweaters and Tuxedo Jackets.

“I had a wonderful, positive experience pitching my crazy little business to some of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time,” Ellers told The Union of his time on Shark Tank. 

2. Ellers Makes All Designs Himself

At the time of writing, Ellers does all of the designs himself, and he even does custom creations in some cases.

He can also do designs for baby clothes, which come in more understated pastels rather than in the bright 1970s-inspired colors which are signature to his adult apparel.

All 1,000 sales at the time of filming had been done through Etsy, and the Instagram page for his designs has over 5,000 followers.

3. The Lord Von Schmitt Etsy Store Has a 5-Star Rating

The Lord Von Schmitt Etsy Store, which has been up since 2010 has over 1,900 sales and has been favorited by over 4,500 shoppers.

At the time of writing, the store has a 5-star rating based on 322 reviews. Many of the reviews mention great customer service, high quality and fast shipping.

Many of the reviews feature photos of the creations. One user wrote that their custom order crochet bodysuit was “totally amazing and arrived just on time, honestly a dream come true to wear!”

4. Ellers Put “Blinders on” In the Effort to Get Onto ‘Shark Tank’

Ellers said that he and five models wore his one-of-a-kind design into the Shark Tank and acknowledged that the chances of appearing on the show were less than 1 percent.

“When I found out about this, I said, I gotta do this, Blinders on,” the 42-year-old entrepreneur said. “Nothing else mattered.”

He also told The Union that Shark Tank is “for people who are passionate about what they do. You’re presenting that thing you’ve been working on for so long.”

5. The Company Was Founded in 2010 But Went Viral in 2015

Ellers began creating his crochet pieces of art in 2010, but they began to get more popular after the popular blog BoredPanda wrote about the designs. He said that “nothing much happened” in the five years between 2010 and 2015, but Lord von Schmitt has been a full-time job ever since.

He said that the designs are very big at Burning Man, and he has been able to sell his top-of-the-line garments for anywhere from $800 to $2,500 depending on the piece and the customization involved.

He expects that the national TV exposure that comes with being on Shark Tank will be good for his online business no matter the outcome of the episode.

Shark Tank airs on Friday, May 8 at 8 p.m./7 p.m. central on ABC.

UnbuckleMe on ‘Shark Tank’: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know